Once I got to Kyoto at 4 P.M. I stored my stuff in a locker in a train station and met Dexter, my mystery couch surfing host, out. He was a really nice guy from Australia...well, he lived in Hong Kong for the most of his childhood and then immigrated to Australia when he was in his twenties. We went out with a friend of his and had some drinks and food. It wasn't a crazy night by any means, but it was nice to go home with him and crash in his extra bedroom. He was really nice and treated me as if we had known each other our whole lives. It is such a great way to meet new people from all over the world and show them all that your city has to offer. I can't wait to host when I settle down someplace.
The next day, I woke up relatively early and got off to explore Kyoto. Dex recommended a few places that were on the outskirts of town so, as I only had two days left on my rail pass, I thought it was best to do those first. Yesterday, I checked out an area called Arashiyama. There is a pretty impressive Temple called Togetsu-kyo that was beautiful and one of the many World Heritage sights in and around Kyoto. After that, I strolled through a bamboo forest where they filmed a few scenes from "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" so I got some cool photos. Came back to my hostel and went out with two American girls and a Swedish guy. We tried to spot a geisha in the Gion district that night but to no avail.
Today, I started off by heading to a flea market. Once again, a lot of crap but I managed to find a few diamonds in the rough. After the market I headed to an area
called Fushimi. There is a temple there...the name escapes me but also a path up into the mountains with thousands of Torii Gates. They go on forever and lead the way...it was truly something special. After a few hours hiking then I continued south on the train to Nara. I got there right before another World Heritage site closed...Todai-ji Temple. It is the largest wooden building in the world and houses the largest Buddha in the world.
This statue is monstrous. It stands 160 ft. tall and is 180 ft. deep. It is quite a sight. I walked around there for a while and it is interesting to note that deer are known as messengers of the 
gods so they roam around Nara Park not scared of anything or anyone. They will come up to you and try to eat anything in front of them. After a few hours in Nara I jumped on the train and came back to Kyoto where I am for two more days. 
